1. Field
The following description relates to a mobile node control technique capable of maintaining the network connectivity of a mobile node while saving energy by minimizing the power consumption of a mobile node using wireless multi-interfaces installed in the mobile node.
2. Description of the Related Art
In accordance with a growing importance of the environment, research has been conducted into ways to combine Information and Communication Technology with the environment, for example, a method to minimize power consumption while maintaining the performance of a communication network. For such systems or devices with limited power as mobile terminals, power consumption is one of the most important factors to consider. Accordingly, research has been carried out on how to minimize the energy consumption in the Physical (PHY) layer of a network in consideration of the properties of various wireless interfaces.
A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), which is one of the most-widely used wireless interfaces for mobile terminals, is a short-range communication network established within a certain range of an access point (AP) where high-speed internet connections are available.
Recent developments in technology have enabled communication within a 50 m to 100 m range of an AP and bandwidths of up to 300 Mbps, which are available for network access in various fields of industry. However, in the case of using the WLAN interface, mobile nodes generally consume a considerable amount of power to receive signals from an AP, as compared to using other wireless interfaces.
A Bluetooth interface is also widely used along with the WLAN interface. The Bluetooth interface is a wireless interface originally for allowing communication systems to communicate within a short range of 10 m or less of one another and is characterized by its low power consumption. Since the Bluetooth interface nowadays can offer a communication range of up to 100 m, and can provide connectivity even in the presence of walls or other obstacles, the Bluetooth interface has been employed in various home appliances and other various systems. A ZigBee interface, which is another wireless interface for short-range communication (i.e., a 10 m to 20 m-range communication) for use in homes or offices, is characterized by transmitting a small amount of data while minimizing power consumption. The ZigBee interface has increasingly become popular as a wireless interface suitable for solutions for establishing a ubiquitous communication environment, such as an object-to-object communication environment.
In the meantime, most mobile terminals are equipped with two or more wireless interfaces to overcome various environmental limitations and be provided with various services. More specifically, most smart phones are equipped with the WLAN interface and the Bluetooth interface. Accordingly, mobile terminals may communicate with an external network via the WLAN interface and may communicate with peripheral devices or other mobile terminals via the Bluetooth interface.
When the wireless interface of a mobile terminal are all in standby mode for communication, the mobile terminal continues to consume power to detect all control signals and any upcoming communication events. To address this problem, a user of the mobile terminal may manually select and manage a wireless interface via which to communicate. However, this type of method requires turning on or off each wireless interface whenever necessary to communicate, and may be highly inappropriate for the type of communication for programs run in a terminal system that does not appear on a user interface (UI).